Atlanta's Fall
by Zweaplight
Summary: Atlanta's Fall is a story based on the comic book and television series The Walking Dead. It follows the story of a normal family from Atlanta trying to escape from all the horror and hoping to establish a safe place were they can start a new and safe life.
1. Prologue

The sun was just about to set under the beautiful skyline of Atlanta. The streets were calm and peaceful. Traffic lights were still doing their work for the traffic that wasn't there and stray dogs were running joyfully in the streets while there fleas were flying in the air. All the inhabitants of Atlanta were watching television, not because there was a good show airing that very night, but because they were waiting for more news. The news anchor of the local television station was white as sheet. He was waiting for an official statement from the White House, even though you wouldn't say he was afraid of something terrible, you could bet ten boxes of Oreos that the good man wanted to be with his wife and children. The man was fiddling with his earpeace, hoping for good news. But when his facial expression changed from afraid to terrified, a loud scream came from behind the scenes. The news anchor stood up, trembling on his feet, and cried: "GET OUT! NOW!" The screen went pitch black and all the horrible sounds coming from the news studio stopped abruptly.

It took a while for the people of Altanta to understand what was going on. The sound of dozens of helicopters flying through the city and an air raid alarm scared all the citizens, who were now starting to quickly pack their stuff and to get out of the city as soon as possible. A big bang went through the city. The shockwave made all the windows shutter and just a few seconds later, all hell broke loose.


	2. Chapter I: The Flight

"NOAH!" cried a man with dark brown hair, and a small scar under his brilliant green left eye. His face was chubby and he looked tired. The man was trembling on his feet. His little goatee was hanging motionless on his skin while he was screaming even louder: "NOAH! GET IN 'ERE!"

A small slender boy, about eleven years old, ran to the backdoor. The sun shining through the leaves of the large oak in the garden made him look like some kind of innocent creature running into a world of bitterness and danger. The boy's pitch black hair was moving in all directions while he was running. He had his father's eyes. The man still trembling on his feet, but relieved to see his son said: "What kept you so long?"

"Euhm," whispered the boy, "Finishing up some stuff, you know…"

"I certainly do not. Go pack your stuff, Noah," said his father. The boy looked surprised at his father, not knowing what was going on. "Don't ask questions, pack your stuff and be quick about it!" Noah walked inside, followed by his father who was closing the door. The man went to the cellar to cut off all the power the power and to put a lot of food in his leathern rucksack. When he came back to the ground floor, Noah was sitting in the sofa with his eyes pointed at his father. "What is happening dad?" asked the boy, still not knowing why they were leaving the house. But before his father had the chance to answer Noah's question, a loud air raid alarm went off. His father almost fell on the ground while Noah was still looking curiously but frightened at his father.

"We can't lose time," he whispered, "We must go now." Noah was watching his father, first he was curious about what was happening. But Noah never had seen his father like this. His skin was becoming more paler every second and every time Noah wanted to ask him something, he thought it wouldn't be the right moment because his father was a mental wreck, and Noah didn't even know why.

"G-get in the car!" father shouted while his saliva made a one way trip to the floor, "Now. We must pick up mum first!"

A giant plume of smoke rose into the yellowish sky above the skyline of Atlanta. For a moment Noah thought it was a factory who didn't mind what was going on, but then he was reminded of the big bang he heard a few minutes earlier when he was wandering around the garden. Noah buckled up and his father pressed the gas harder than ever.

They were now riding towards an old industrial center with a lot of old, dusty building waiting to be sloped. Some of them were still in use, and one of them was a large brownish building with "Romero Incorporated" written on it. Noah's father stopped, opened his door and ran towards the entarnce, he opened it and only a few seconds later he came back with a woman Noah knew as his mother. His father looking relieved said : "Thanks God you're okay, have you seen the news?" His mother, who looked even paler than Noah's father, nodded. His father pressed the gas again and then he said: "We're not going back home, I took the tent and as much rations I could take with me, we'll be staying outside of the city as long as needed. Everything is locked."

"You sure this is needed, hon?" she answered anxiously; "Those t-things are out. Are you really sure this is a good idea?"

"Of course I'm sure. When things get worse, there will be no way to escape the city, people are fleeing already. A sparsely populated area would be even better, but for now we're going to stay close to Atlanta, you never know they might be able to show this."

His mother nodded approvingly, but scared.

Noah, still not getting the point, didn't mind anymore. Something was going on, that was for sure. He was looking at the road, a lot of people were packing their stuff. The roads were busier than ever and some people were just sitting outside on the porch reading a good book or just waiting for what was going to happen, which Noah's father thought was a rather peculiar way to handle a situation like this. The large city buildings were disappearing, large forests came from nowhere and when the night had finally fallen it felt like it might be staying dark for a long while.


	3. Chapter II: The Fall

The tires of the car were crackling while they were driving over the trackway to the site they were planning to stay for a while. It was really dark outside. Now and then the sound of a helicopter could be heard in the distance. Noah, now fast asleep, was hopping up and down every time they had hit a bump in the road. Noah's mother was still looking a bit sick, probably because of the initial shock. Not everybody can say they had experienced to hear such scaring news.

"We're almost there, Lily," a soft voice said, "I will erect the tent immediately. If you want to, you can start gathering wood. Noah's probably hungry by now, and we can't send him to bed with an empty stomach."

"You think it will be safe out there?", answered Lily suspiciously.

"I think so, I'll be safer than in the city. If the problem isn't solved by the end of the week, we'll be heading out to the countryside. It's much safer out there."

"I don't know, will we ever be able to get back home?"

"Maybe. Anyway, we must live for the now. I never trusted our government, I dare say they will have a lot of trouble solving this. They were supposed to stay in the hospital until they had found a cure, and look now. One has escaped and the whole city is going through hell. You have seen the news? Those things look terrifying and dangerous. We could not have done anything else."

"I hope you're alright", Lily said, "I can't think about what will happen when they'll leave Atlanta."

"Don't think about it then, we'll be safe for now. And until we know more, we still have each other, and that is what counts the most."

The same night, when the tent was fully erected and the inflatable mattress was lying inside of it, three people were sitting around a smoldering fire. They looked tired. The pitch black night had surrounded them. The tallest person of the trio stood up, walked to the tent, went inside it and stayed there for a minute. He came back with a flashlight.

Half asleep, Lily aksed: "What are you going to do with that?"

"Checking the surroundings, you know what for. Noah should get some rest."

Noah, who had heard his name, sleep-charged, stood up, and walked to the tent, rubbing his eyes. He opened the tent and lit up a light. His mother Lily was still enjoying the warmth of the fire. She saw her son put on his pajamas. She poked in the fire with a stick. Small sparkling lights rose into the air like small whisps trying to protect what was most dear to them. The light in the tent went out.

"Well, I'm going to check the surroundings, you can use the radio if you wand, Noah will be fast asleep soon."

Lily did not answer, she simply nodded and took the small radio out of the large rucksack. She fiddled a bit with the buttons. A voice of an old man came out of it. She dropped the radio next to her and kept poking the fire.

_We haven't heard any news since eight 'o clock. The army spokesman stated they had everything under control._

Noah's father was walking around, looking at bushes and trees with his flashlight. He could see small lights in the distance coming from Atlanta. He turned around at every sound he heard an kept looking around attentively.

_I'm not sure if they're telling the truth or not. From what I have seen, I can only tell things are getting worse._

Lily looked at her watch, it was already eleven in the evening. She sighed. She wanted to go home, she wanted to sleep in her bed. She didn't want any of this. Lily prodded in the fire again, she dropped the stick in the fire and watched it burn. She laid down in the grass, looking at the stars in the sky.

_Phone lines are overloaded. Finding contact with your family is almost imp- Wait… We're getting something through. Oh no, the virus has spread and has reached other cities. Things are getting much worse. If you're still in the city, you must leave now!_

Still walking and looking around, Noah's father decided to return back to Lily after he had taken a leak. He stood there, looking at all those lights. It seemed that there were still people who thought they we're safe over there. He though they couldn't have been more wrong in their entire life. He didn't see one of those creatures yet in real life, but he heard all about it on the news, and the pictures he had seen were terryfying.

_It also seems like the army has left the city. The center has been completely overrun. _

He turned and walked back to his wife, hoping that he would be able to sleep well that night. He was almost there when he heard a loud noise. He turned around. It seemed like the army was using weapons on Atlanta, trying to contain the virus as much as possible. All the lights went out, one by one. Lily stood up to look at her husband, to see if he was safe. But then she saw the fires coming from the city. She shoved her hand over mouth, looking astonished about what just happened.

The man speaking on the radio, now more nervous than ever, kept continuing his broadcast.

_Parts of the city are being bombed. If you are close to the edge, you better leave now. There is no way of escapi…_

Another loud bang could be heard, this time though, it didn't come from the city but from the radio. The man's voice disappeared and loud crackling noise filled the silence after the bombings.


End file.
